Evaluation of Greek Tomato Landrace Populations for Heterogeneity of Horticultural Traits

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) landraces contain much more genetic diversity, compared to the modern hybrid cultivars grown today. Landraces also frequently have distinctive organoleptic values and can serve as value-added products for farmers and as important genetic resources for breeders. However, a large amount of heterogeneity in a landrace will probably make it unattractive to the growers who are interested in cultivating it. Efficient utilization of landrace populations requires their proper characterization and evaluation. In the present study, a two-year experiment was conducted to study heterogeneity within and among 14 Greek tomato landrace populations for various horticultural traits in a low-input environment. The results indicated that significant heterogeneity occurred within and among the tomato landrace populations for the morphological (fruit length, fruit width, core size, locule number, fruit length x fruit width and fruit width/fruit length) and yield (flower number per truss, fruit number per truss, and fruit yield of the first three trusses) characters evaluated; whereas, the F1 hybrid 'Clodin' provided the most consistent results from plant to plant. Although the heterogeneity of horticultural traits detected within the tomato landraces reduces the likelihood of grower acceptance, those that provided the highest yields ('GR05/01', 'GR14/99', 'GR25/99', 'GR60/99', and 'GR193/99') may provide new opportunities for vegetable growers who want to broaden their markets, due to the increased popularity of heirlooms and landraces in certain markets.